Rand Paul struggles with hawkish GOP donors

Rand Paul is doing everything he can to marshal the support of a diverse range of political factions ahead of a potential presidential run, from courting Republican National Committee members to meeting with traditionally Democratic African-American pastors and Berkeley college kids.

But at least one segment of the GOP still harbors deep reservations about the libertarian-leaning Kentucky senator — a group that includes prominent donors with plenty of critical cash.

Text Size

-

+

reset

The foreign policy hawks within the establishment GOP — among them pro-Israel donors, national security types and neoconservatives — are impressed by Paul’s attempts to broaden the Republican base and find him willing to listen to their concerns. But ultimately, according to people plugged into the Republican donor class, they worry that a President Paul would dangerously scale back America’s activities abroad — a deepening concern in some corners as his star has risen within the broader party.

Members of the establishment wing “think he’s a good leader, an attractive candidate and they agree with a lot of what he has to say on economic policy,” said Charlie Black, a veteran Republican strategist. “But they don’t agree with him on America withdrawing to its own shores.”

Paul’s father, Ron Paul, is a famously isolationist libertarian icon; the younger Paul, however, sharply rejects that label. Still, he appears to be betting that if he can build a sufficiently broad coalition – capturing grassroots enthusiasm; appealing to Democratic-leaning constituencies; keeping his libertarian base happy; and making himself palatable to the bulk of the GOP establishment — it will be less crucial to get all of the foreign policy hawks on board at a time when public opinion is shifting away from pro-interventionist sentiment.

The problem with that approach could surface most clearly when it comes to luring big-time cash, said one GOP donor, a former adviser to 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

“For a lot of the establishment people that care about foreign policy, he has considerable concerns among that crowd,” the source said. “The interesting question is, how much does that crowd matter anymore? You still have … establishment people, a handful of people, who do care, whether it’s Israel, Middle East policy, policy regarding China. But at the end of the day, if you look at primary voters, it’s pretty low on their totem poll. However, for some bundlers, it’s a big deal. It really hits him, probably, on New York or D.C. bundlers.”

Paul has come a long way from when he first entered the Senate on a tea party wave in 2010. The views of his father, a longtime House member and erstwhile presidential candidate, initially colored perceptions about the senator, but he has distanced himself from his dad, saying he is a “realist – not a neoconservative, nor an isolationist.”

Paul has met with donors including the staunchly pro-Israel mega-donor Paul Singer; Wall Street types like Emil Henry, a former George W. Bush Treasury official, and last month a gathering of former Romney backers; he has spoken with people with Republican Jewish Coalition, an organization strongly opposed to a nuclear-armed Iran, in part out of concern for what that would mean for Israel. Paul has appeared at pro-defense bastions such as The Citadel in South Carolina; one professor there, Mallory Factor, has publicly gone to bat for Paul. And he has brought on Lorne Craner, a longtime aide to GOP Sen. John McCain, to serve as one of his foreign policy advisers. He has also gone to Israel since entering the Senate and impressed some observers at the time with his enthusiasm.

“A lot of people have previously gotten information about his positions from other people’s characterizations of them. I think it’s important to hear directly from him,” said a senior adviser to Paul. “They often find it’s not what they think, not what they have read.”

One Republican who works closely with GOP donors said many of them have been pleasantly surprised — but that that only goes so far.

“Sen. Paul benefits by the low expectations set by his father: When he meets with donors, they inevitably come away impressed because he is sane and thoughtful in his dialogues, and willing to listen to other opinions, all contrary to expectations set by his father,” the Republican said. “Having said that, some of his views on foreign policy scare the hell out of foreign policy hawks [and] pro-Israel donors.”